SXSW Adventures Day 6: ‘Sound City’, the Comedy of Dave Grohl, and Trade Show Swag

Today was the last day of the SXSW trade show which is essentially an expo of free stuff: pens, T shirts, bags, notepads, candy, flyers, beer coozies, and a whole bunch of other useless stuff that is cool. It is also a venue where you can learn about existing and up-and-coming tech businesses! I was just there for the free stuff and if I happened to learn about a cool new product, that would be a bonus. Here are a couple of pictorial highlights from the trade show:

Free woo girl hats that have nothing to do with the brand of the company that was giving them away. I think they were some “cloud” company. Nothing says “cloud” like an ugly, cheaply made hat:

Ideas on how to waste Post-its:

Freaky robot video chat machines:

Even as an immobile plush novelty head, the “Gangnam Style” dude is still obnoxious:

This app helps women get bottle service AND an STD:

It’s Not You, It’s Me: I watched this short film in the fancy SXSW screening room and was completely entertained for it’s 10 minute run time. Directed by Matt Spicer and starring Gillian Jacobs, Fran Kranz, and Rob Huebel, it’s a helpful dark comedy on what to not to do when your boyfriend starts to get on your nerves. It’s funny. Damn funny.

Hawking: I don’t know much about Stephen Hawking except that he is super smart. After watching this documentary about him and his life’s accomplishments I learned that my previous knowledge about him was right.

Sound City: Musician Dave Grohl made this documentary about the legendary Sound City, a magical analog recording studio where iconic rock stars (like Rick Springfield) recorded some of their greatest albums. Lesson learned from the screening? Digital production has no soul. Lesson learned from the Q&A after the screening? Dave Grohl should have a single camera comedy about his life where he plays himself.